i)EMOCrvACY NATIONAL AND NOT SECTIONAL. 



SPEECH 



OF 



, ^ , 1882 



HON. THOMAS J. D. FULLER, OF MAINE, 

'I 

DELIVERED IN THE IIOUr^E OF REPRESENTATIVES, AUGUST 28, 1856, 

In VindicaUon of the. Democratic Party from the charge of Sectionalism, made 
by his Colleagues, and Defending its action upon the Disagreement of ike tW9 
Houses of Congress upon the Army Appropriation Bill. 



Mr. FULLER, of Maine, said: 

Mr. Speaker: Havino^ been unable to obtain 
the floor, until this late clay — though I have dili- 
gently and poi-severingly sought it for weeks — I 
avail myself, by the courtesy of the House, of 
this first occasion to express my sentiments upon 
questions which have been much discussed dui-ing 
the recent long session of Congress. In doing 
so, however, [ am constrained lo overcome a strong 
natural repugnance to making a political speech 
in a legislative assembly like the House of Rep- 
resentatives of the United States. 

I assure you, sir, that this sentiment has rather 
been strengthened than weakened by a legisla- 
tive experience of seven years in this body. For 
weeks and months I have been compelled to listen 
to the most inflammatory partisan harangues, 
better suited to tlie theater of the political hust- 
ings than to the statesmanlike deliberations of 
an American Congress — harangues, apparently 
designed to inflame the passions and to excite 
the prejudices of one section of our common coun- 
try against another section, and to create the 
settled conviction in the public mind that the true 
interests and the political welfare of tlie free and 
the slave States of this great Republic are antag- 
onistical to each other; and, what is worse and 
far more miscliievous and dangerous in its prac- 
tical effect, to inculcate the idea in the northern 
mind, that the slaveholding States are inspired 
with a haughty and arrogant disposition to rule by 
imperious sway their political brethren of the free 
States — that the free States having the majority of 
numbers, ought rightfully, and regardless of con- 
stitutional restrictions and obligations, to impose 
their own notions of moral and political ri";ht 
upon their brethren of llie slave States — that 
northern Democrats, who do not enlist in this 
crusade against the slave States, " arc base truck- 
lers," "dirt-eaters," "contemptible dough- 
faces," and similar terms of contumely and 
reproach. Upon northern Democrats, in an es- 
pecial manner, are concentrated the most intensi- 
fied political, spleen and vituperation of the I'lack 
Republi '.ans. What is this for ? Why, to render 



unpopular, obnoxious, and odious, every man 
who exerts an influence or stands in the way of 
tliese immaculate Rejiublicans in gaining their 
dosired political ascendency in this Government. 
They seem bent on overthrowing the last barrier 
in the way of forming a sectional party, which 
must weakerT, if not fatally disrupt, the ties that 
bind us together as one people. 

Among the foremost of that party, I regret to 
find a member from my own State — the gentle- 
man from the Oxford district — as is shown by 
the S])oeches delivered by him at the late session. 
What good or useful purposes will such speeches 
serve? Is it desirable that the free and slave 
States of this Republic should separate, and pro- 
ceed to form two distinct and separate Confedera- 
cies? If so, why not boldly and manfully avow 
the purpose to be attained, and proceed at onc« 
to tlie accomplishment of the desired object? 
Why seek, indirectly, to accomplish a purpose 
which may be come at directly ? But, if not, is 
it wise, discreet, or commendable, to puisue a 
course of policy which, inevitably, and according 
to well known experience, tends most unerringly 
to this end ? 

If one will but read the Farewell Address of the 
Father of his Country, and then, animated with 
the spirit and ti-mper which the patriotic sentiments 
of that address shall inspire in his bosom, sit 
down and peruse the speech of my colleague, he 
will fully appreciate the force of the idea I wish 
to express. In my judgment, the true patriot, in 
this houhof sectional hatred and politicalstrife,can 
do his country no greater service than by exerting 
his influence to ameliorate and soften down the 
sectional feeling already engendered to such a 
fearful and alarmmg extent, even if it be at the 
expense of having heaped upon his head those 
opprobrious epithets, calculated and designed to 
bring him into disrepute among his fellow-citizjfis. 
Madness will not always rule the hour; for 
I believe that this sectional hatred has been 
fomented, excited, and intensified, for no other 
purpose than to further the hopes and wishes ef 
partisan njgrandizement. 




Hitherto the opinion has been considered as a 
speculative one, whether this Government con- 
tained within itselfsufficient strength and adhesion 
to withstand successfully, the shock of a sectional 
political controversy based upon the slavery ques- 
tion. The issue is now made ! The fearful ques- 
tion is upon us ! The experiment is to be tested, 
however much prudent men have sought to avoid 
it. AVashington and his compatriots, who con- 
ducted the colonies triumphantly through the 
American Revolution, and afterwards completed 
that greater labor of forming a constitutional 
model Republic (wherein all the States were 
blended into one for national purposes) were fa- 
miliar with the history of the rise and fall of civil 
Government. They were undoubtedly stimu- 
lated to incur the responsibilities attendant upon 
so great an undertaking by the renown which 
would follow their success. They seem to have 
fully a]ipreciated this idea. The student of Amer- 
ican history cannot fail to notice, in the writings 
of the patriots of the Revolution, that they were 
laboring more for the benefit of theif posterity 
than for the generation of their own time. Hence 
their solicitude to give durability to the mighty 
superstructure which, in their bright visions of the 
future, they saw was to arise upon the founda- 
tions laid by them at so great personal sacrifices, 
well knowing that their own fame would be com- 
mensurate with the magnitude and duration of 
the Republic. For tliis purpose, Washington 
pointed out, with prophetic foresight, the causes 
(as we now see) which seemed most likely to be 
the means of overturning the Republic, and, by 
timely admonition, to avert so great a calamity. 
In his Farewell Address he says: 

" In contemplating the causes which may disturb our 
Union, it occurs, as a matter of serious concern, tliat any 
ground should have been furnished for characterizing par- 
ties tjy geograpliical discriminations — Northern, Soulliern, 
Atlantic, and Western" — [.Mark the words !]— " whence 
designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there 
is a real difference of local interests and views. One of 
the expedients to acquire influence within particular dis- 
tricts is to misrepresent the opinions and views of other 
districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against 
the jealousies and heart-burnings which spring from these 
misrepresentations. They tend to render alien to each 
other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal 
affections." 

No passage of Holy Writ is imore prophetic 
than is this advice of Washington to his cojin- 
trymen. He must have been inspired with a 
prophet's vision when he uttered those words. 
And to-day, scarce sixty years since the language 
was penned, through fanaticism and sectional 
hatred, regardless of his warning voice, this Re- 
public is tottering to its fall. 

For the purpose of turning the attention of the 
citizens of my own State to their own true and 
peculiar interests, I invite their attention to another 
extract from the same address; for I deem it not 
irreverent to say, that Washington's Farewell 
Address should be to the citizen in his political 
relations, what the Sermon on the Mount is to 
the life of the Christian: 

"The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the 

« South, protected by equal laws of a common Government, 
finds in the productions of the latter great additional re- 
sources of a maritime and commercial enterprise, and per- 
ceives materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in 
the, same intercourse, benelUed by the agency of the North, 
sees its agriculture grow, and its commerce expand ; turn- 
ing partly into its channels the seamen of the North, it tinds 
its particular navigation invigorated ; aivd while it contrib- 



utes in different ways to nourish and increase the general 
mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the pro- 
tection of a maritime strength to which itself is unequally 
adapted." 

But our opponents, the Republicans, conscious 
of the fast and strong hold these sentiments have 
upon the popular mind of the North, seek to 
weaken their i)ifluence by affirming that they are 
not a SECTIONAL PARTY ! For iliey know that no 
party, sectional in its principles and organization, 
can expect to succeed. The popular mind will 
not be i?atisfied with any political organization 
which does not embrace, witliin its ample folds, 
the whole country. Hence their solicitude to 
avoid the odium which most assuredly will attach 
to such an organisation. As evidence to this 
assertion, I append the subjoined extract from 
the revised speech of the member from the Oxford 
district, as published in the Appendix to the 
Congressional Globe: 

" As I announced in the commencement of these re- 
marks, I shall now attempt to show that the Republican 
party is a national party ; that it stands upon a platform of 
principles eminently na«!07iaZ; and that no national man. 
North or South, East or West, can, with any show of con- 
sistency, refuse to stand upon it. 

" The Democratic platform is sectional in all its parts ; 
and to call it a " national" platform is a libel upon the com- 
mon sense of every man who reads it. 

" With all these facts glaring them in the face, the mem- 
bers of the so-called Democratic party, the supporters of the 
present national Administration, have the unblushing impu- 
dence to stand up, and say to those of us who have, on the 
stump and at the ballot-box, through good report and evil 
report, supported Jackson, and Tan Boren, and Polk, and 
Pierce, (until he forsook his friends and abandoned his plat- 
form,) and have clung to the Democratic party like the 
mariner to the wreck, until there was not a single plank of 
its good old platform left to save us from perdition, that we 
have left the Democratic party — that we have changed and 
gone overto Abolitionism — when they know, and we know, 
and the whole world knows, that they are the men that 
have changed — tkey are the deserters, that they have gone 
off and offered sacrifices to strange gods, while we are de- 
fending the sacramental altars and consecrated fires of the 
' God of our fathers.' While we are, in goo1 faith, main- 
taining and defending the doctrines of Jefferson and the 
Democratic party, they are bowing down and worshiping 
the Dagon god of African slavery." 

I take issue with the allegations in the above 
extract. I aver that the Deinocratic party of to- 
day stands where it ever has stood — is national 
in its sentiments, and in its organization, and 
occupies no new ground upon the slavery ques- 
tion. 

I do not stop there — I go further. I allege and 
will show, beyond cavil or doubt, that the so- 
called Republican party is a sectional party in its 
principles — is identical with the Abolition party, 
and occupies the same ground which that party 
did in the presidential elections of 1848 and 1852. 

Now, what are the opinions and sentiments of 
the Republican party of Maine (for uf this por- 
tion of the party I intend to speak) upon the 
great slavery questions, and, as they say, the all- 
absorbing questions of the day } To prove what 
they are, I will not rely upon the isolated opinions 
of this or that man, but will adduce the highest 
and most conclusive evidence which the case 
affords, and it is ample, to wit: the repeated res- 
olutions of their organization, put forth in a 
legislative as well as in conventional form. The 
first is the resolutions of instruction from the 
Republican Legislature of Maine, approved March 
17, 1855, instructing the Senators, and requesting 
the Representatives, to vote on the several prop-. 



ositions therein named, and are in the following 
language : 

" Reso!veil, That our Senators in Ounyrfss he iiislructnl, 
and our Krpn-iioutatjvos riM|Ui'sU'(l, to iisi- all |)rup|iral)li' 
means to srctirr tlie pa-;f^a!;i' of the t'ollowin)! ftiai-tnifnts : 

"First, An ai-t rein-alins; all laws ol" the Tnueil Slates 
authorizing slavery in tlu- l>islriet of diluiiitiia. 

" Sccomi, An let rep^-aling the statute of 18.">l), known as 
ihe fugitive slave law. 

"Third, An aet forever proliihltinp slavery or involun- 
Wry servituil'-, e^eopt for crime, within the Territories of 
tlie United Stales. 

" Resoleed further. That our Senators in (^on^ress be 
instructed, aiid our Representatives requested, at all tunes 
hereat'ter, n\ost strenuously to oppose in every justifiable 
way the admission of any new Stali? into the Union, ex- 
cept upon the condition to beenihrared in the netof ailinis- 
sion, that slavery or involuntary servitude, exceptiuj; that for 
crime, of wliieli the aeeuseil shall have been duly pri>ved 
guilty, shall he forever prohibited therein. 

" Rcsolvtil. T'lat the Governor be requested tn forward a 
copy of these resolves to each of Our Senators and Uepre- 
tcntativcs in Cotuiress, and to the Governors of each State, 
with a request that the resolves be laid before the Legisia- 1 
lure thereof." 

Did the Abolition or Garrison party ever make 
greater demands tlian do these resolutions.' 

Second. The call for a grand rally of the 
Republicans of Maine, in nuias convention at 
Portland, on the 14th of August, 1855, signed by 
the Republican Slate committee, with the list of 
speakers expected to be present, and the resolu- 
tions adopted, with extracts from the speeches 
made by the gentlemen invited to speak, and 
published immediately in the Republican papers, 
and distributed very generally throughout the 
State. 

REPUBLICANS OF M.\IKe! 
Jl »ranrf rally of the people opposed to the National Admin- 
istration, andt) the extension of tlavery over the Territo- 
ries of the Uniicd States. I 
The citizens of the State, who desire to help rescue this 
Republic from its perils and downward tendencies, are re- 
i|uested to meet in mass convention at Deering Hall, Port- 
land, on Tuesday, August 14, to take counsel, and determ- 
ine on such a course of action as the love of freedom and 
sound patriotism demand. The slave power in this nation 
has so strenirthened itself by the tbrbearance and remissness 
•f the North and West, and the treachery of some of their 
Representativi.'s, that it is no longer a question whether 
Africans and their descendants shall be enslaved, hut 
whether the people of the free States shall be the humble 
eervantsof theslaveholding oliaarchy .' It is not a sectional 
issue between the North and the South ; but the question 
pressing on us is. whether Democracy or aristocracy shall 
rule the nation? To day the Government of this mighty 
Republic is in the hands of a class, and not of the people. 
The years through which we are now passing are to determ- 
ine whether the free States are to be subdued provinces, 
with a mere dutsidc or secondary influence in the councils 
of the nation, or equality, good iaith, and sound republic- 
anism shall prevail among the Slates of this Union. Is 
the law of freedom, or the iron rule of slavery, to be re- 
garded as national .' Let the freemen of Maine answer, as 
the crisis demands. The Government must be restored to 
the principles and policy of its founders, or this Union can- 
not permanently endure. The immense territories of the 
West must be "saved from the black tide of slavery that 
threatens to sweep over them. Kansas betrayed, outraged, 
overrun by armed rulfians. sp.-aks to us with a tongue of 
flame. The people of .Maine will prove true to her instincts 
of justice and freedom, and to her fornic-r renown. 

Let the asseniMiicof Ausust 11, in numbers and delerm- 
ination, be such as itic. occasion demands. 1-:minent speakers 
of our own and from abroad will address the convention. 
The following cciitlemen are engaged, and confidently ex- 
pected to be present on the occasion : 

aiaiiic— William riltFessenden, Anson P. Morrill, Amos 
Nourse, Samuel .Mavall. Israel Washburn, Edward Kent, 
Samuel P. Ben.son', Freeman H. Morse, and John J. 
Perry. ^ . , 

New Hampshire.— John P. Hale, James Bell, and Daniel 
T. Clark. 

Connecticut. — Ex-Governor Clcaveland and Truman 



New Vork.—n. V. Hutler and John A. Dix. 
Edward Keiino, Charles J. (;ilman, Iliram Ilubbardi 
James M. Deering, I'lulandi-r C.iinirn, Alon/.o (.'areelon, 
Franklin Clark, AI.ii.t II. Ilallowell, N. G. Iliehliorn, George 
Dowms, .1. S. .MuMMi', JohJi li. .Morrison. John Hridges, 
Lemuel I'rott, and Wushinglon Long, Republican Statt 
Vommitlee. 
Jrou-20, I8."i,'). 

Thud. Resolutions adopted nt the same meet- 
ing with '♦ thundering unaniniily:" 

" We, the people of Maine, members of the Republican 
party, assembleil In State convention, believin* the que»- 
tion of human freedom to he paramount to all other political 
questions now ai;ilaling our country, hereby deelartr tlie 
principles which have brought lis toiielher, and for which 
we will contend iinlll tiny shall he adopted as a eonlrolling 
element in the adiiiiiii.-lralion of our national Government. 
" 1. That the t'onstitiilion of the United States was de- 
signi'd by the people who adopted it to be a law of inipai- 
tlal government. 

"•J. Thai by the Constitution, Congress is made the 
special guardian of the liberties of the: people inhabititl| 
the District ol Culnmbia and the Territories of the United 
States ; and until it shall abolish slavery in ihe former, and 
forever prohibit it in the latter, it remains false to the soU 
enin trust comiiiilted to its charge. 

"3. That the Constitution, while it prohibits the several 
Stales from enacting any ' law or regulation' discharging 
fugitives from service or labor from their obligations, confen 
no iiower whatever upon Congress to lenislaie on this suN- 
jeet. The act of Is;:")!), called the fuuilive slave law, w 
therefore, not only inhuman, but unconstitutional in its 
provisions, and should lie immediately and iiiicondilionally 
repealed. 

" 4. That it is the right and the duty of Congress, in aU 
acts for the admission of new States into the Union, W 
prohibit forever the introduction of slavery therein." 

Extracts from the speech of Mr. Wade, of 
Oliio, the present Senator from that Stale: 

" I know very well that you have among you, as we have 
amon;; us at the West, a few men who think they can reor- 
".iiiize the old Wilis party. Now, sir, I can speak verjr 
freely of that party, because I belong to it. I followed that 
party, with an unwavering fidelity, for twenty five years; , 
but I say now that that organization is not only dead, but 
it already stinketh ; and they who expect to resuscitate it 
expect a miracle greater than that that was wroushl at the 
tomb of Lazarus. [Renewed applause.] I was present 
when it died. It died the death of a felon ; and I stand 
here to-day to pronounce it dead— dead— dead ! It died by 
the perfidy of its own members— thus coniniitting a kind 
of political suicide. 

" I am not going to speak about your Nebraska hill, for I 
have already told you that the North is completely prostrate 
by this curse of slavery. There is no union now between 
us and the South. The' pretended Union now existing is all 
meretricious— the heart docs not participate in it; and I 
believe, from all that I have seen, and I am one of those who ■ 
dare speak what I believe— I believe that there are no two 
nations on earth— not even the Russians and the English at 
this day— who at heart feel more enmity towards each other 
than the men of the Norlti and the South." 

Extracts from the speech of Hon. Israel 
Washburn, Jr., from Maine: 

" I regard our action this year as being of as much im- 
portance as it was last year, and more important, perhaps, 
than it will be next year ; for on what we do in ls'.'>5 depends, 
in a great measure,' what we will do in iaj6; and not only 
so, but it depends in a s;reat degree on what .Maine may do 
this year, as to what will be done in other States in 1856. 
As we put the ball In motion, so it will go on rolling to the 
end. Let M^ine triumph nohlv this year, as she will, [very 
great applause ;] let her elect Morrill as her Governor by 
ten thousand majoiitv, as she will, [renewed applause;! 
let her do that— let the word be sent to Ohio; and lei Ohio 
respond with her one hundred thousand majority for Chase ; 
let Indiana and Wisconsin resound with similar music; 
and then let the influence of these triumphs return to the 
Empire Stale and the Old Bay State in November; let the 
North bo swc^pt now, and we may be sure that, in 1&.>G, a 
northern Republican President will be elected; and that is a 
result which will be in no small measure influi iicid by this 
meeting in Portland to day, and by the vote of .Maine on 
the 10th of SeptemlMT next. That done, the State Legis- 
latures will be chansed, so that, during the fir.-t Congress 
of the next Presidc-ncy, we shall have all the branches of 
the Government, and will thus be enabled to make slavery 
sectional and freedom national as it should be. [Applause.] 



4 



But let >is break down now; let Wells be elected or Mor- 
rill defeated — no matter how — and what will you heat? 
Why, it will go abroad swifter than if on the wings of the 
wind, that Maine is backing down ; that Maine is sustain- 
ing the Pierce adiniiiistratioii ; that the Democracy of sla- 
very is trinmpliant; that the Representatives of Maine have 
been rebnkcd; and that Moses McDonald has been sus- 
tained. That will be the word, and you all know it." 

How unfortunate for the gentleman, in that 
instance, did his predictions prove.'' It was almost 
cruel in the people of Maine to throw a wet blanket 
over the high hopes and bright visions of the 
future, as they so beautifully glittered in the gen- 
tleman's imagination. Now, have the Rcpubli- 
ans of IVIaine ever repudiated these sentiments.' 
Do they not hold to them to-day .' Who will say 
that they are not now the sentiments of that party.' 
Everybody knows that the above resolutions, and 
those sentiments, constitute the platform of the 
Republican party of Maine at this moment. Now, 
compare this platform with the Abolition plat- 
form of 1848, as established at the Buffalo con- 
vention, which nominated Van Burcn, and the 
platform established at the Pittsburg convention, 
August 12, 1852, which nominated John P. Hale 
for its candidate. 

In 1852, three conventions were held for the 
purpose of nominating presidential candidates 
for the three parties. I quote from the platform 
of each party, with the names of their respective 
candidates, and the number of votes, by States, 
which each candidate received. It will ail"ord in- 
formation of a useful character, in determining 
this question of political consistency, and show 
who it is that has taken a new position in 1856 
on the slavery question. 

The Democratic Convention atRaltimore (June, 
1852,) nominated General Pierce, u]5on the follow- 
ing platform touching the slavery question: 

"9. Tliat Congress has no power, under the Constitution, 
to interfere with or control tlie domestic institutions of the 
several States, and that such States are the sole and proper 
judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs, not 
prohibiled by the Constitution ; that all eflorts of the Ab- 
oIitioni^ts or others, made to induce Congress to inter- 
fere with questions of slavery, or to lake inoipipnt steps in 
relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the iiio-f danger- 
ous and alarming consequences ; and tiKit all such eliorts 
have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of 
the people, and endanger the stability and permanency of 
the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend 
•four political institutions. 

" That the foregoing proposition covers, and was intended 
to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Con 
gress ; and therefore the Democratic party of the Union, 
■tandmg on this national platform, will abide by, .and ad 
here to, a faithful execution of the acts known as the com 
promise measures, settled by the last Congress, and the act 
lor reclaiming fugitives from service or labor included, 
which act, being designed to carry out an express provision 
of the Constitution, cannot, v/ifh fidelity thereto, be re- 
pealed, or so changed as to impair or destroy its efficiency." 

The Whig Convention at Baltimore, of the 
same year, nominated General Scott, upon the 
following platform touching the slavery question: 

" 8. Resolved, That the series of acts of the Thirty First 
Congress, commonly known as the compromise or adjust 
ment, (the act for the recovery of fugitives from labor in- 
•luded.) are received and accjuieseed in, by the Whigs of 
the United States, as a final settlement in principle and suh 
stance of the subjects to which they relate; and so far as 
these acts are concerned, we will maintain tliem and insist 
on their strict enforcement unlii time and experience shall 
demon.strate the necessity of further legislation, to guard 
a^inst the evasion of the laws on the one hand and the 
abuse of their pDWers on the other, not impairing their pres- 
ent efficiency to carry out the requirements of the Consti- 
tution. And we deprecate all further agitation of the ques- 
tions thus settled as dangerous to our peace, and will di.s- 
•ountenance all efforts to continue or renew such agitation, 
iBhen^ver, wherever, or however made ; and we will main- 



tain this settlement as essential to the nationality of the 
■Wilis party and the integrity of the Union." 

The third party, being the Abolition parly 
proper, under the name of Free Democracy, in 
convention at Pittsburg, on the 8th of August, 
1852, nominated John P. Hale, upon the follow- 
ing platform touching the slavery question: 

"5. That to the persevering and importunate demands of 
the slave power for more slave States, more slave territory^ 
and the nationalization of slavery, our distinct and linaJ 
answer is, no more slave States — no slave territory — no 
nationalization of slavery, and no national legislation for 
the extradition of slaves. That the fugitive slave act of 
1850 is repugnant to the Constitution — to the principles of 
the American law — to the spirit of Christianity, and to the 
sentiments of the civilized world. We therefore deny its 
binding force upon the American people, and demand its 
immediate and total repeal. 

" That the acts of Congress, known as the compromise 
measures of 18.50, by making the admission of a sovereiga 
btaie contingent upon the adoption of other measures, de- 
manded by the special interests of slavery ; by their omis- 
sion to guaranty freedom in free territory : by llieir attempt 
to impose unconstitutional liniitaliniis on the power of Con- 
gress and the people to admit new Stairs ; by their pro- 
visions for the assumption of five millions of the State debt 
of Te.xas, and for the payment of five millions more, and 
the cession of a large territory to the same State, under 
menace, as an inducemertt to the relinquishment of a 
groundless claim ; and by their invasion of the sovereignty 
of the States and the liberties of the people, through the 
enactment of an unjust, oppressive, and unconstitutional 
fugitive slave law, are proved to be inconsistent with all the 
principles and ma.tims of Democracy, and wholly inade- 
quate to the settlement of the questions of which they are 
claimed to be an adjustment. 

"20. That the Free Democratic party is not organized to 
aid either the Whig or Democratic wing of the great slava 
compromise party of the nation, but to defeat them both ; 
and that, repudiating and renouncing both, as hopelessly 
corrupt and unworthy of confidence, the purpose of the 
Frife Democracy is, to take possession of the Federal Gov- 
ernment, and administer it for the better protection of the 
rights and interests of the whole people. 

" That wejnscribe on our banner free soil, free speech, 
free labor, and freemen, and under it will fight on and fight 
ever, until a triumphant victory shall reward our exertions." 

This Abolition platform ernbraces distinctly the 
five propositions contained in the Republican plat- 
form of Maine. Upon these three |>latforn(is, in 
Novernber, 1852, the popular verdict was ren- 
dered, by States, as follows: 

Pierce. Srott. Hale. 

Maine 41,609 3l>,.543 8,030 

New Hampshire 29,997 16,147 6,69» • 

Vermont i:j.044 23.173 8,621 

Massachusetts 46,880 53,063 29.993 

Rhode Island 8.735 7,626 644 

Connecticut 33,219 .■30,,359 3.160 

New York 282,083 231,882 25,323 

New Jersey 44,305 38,.0S6 380 

Penrr-ylvania 198,,568 179,122 8,524 

Ohio.". 169,220 152,526 31,689 

Indiana 95,299 80.901 6.934 

Michigan 41,842 33,860 7,237 

Illinois 80,.597 64,934 9,96i» 

Wisconsin 72.413 37,1.32 

Iowa 17,762 15,855 1,605 

California 39,665 34,971 100 

Delaware 6,318 6,293 62 

Maryland 40,022 35,077 54 

Virginia 72,413 57,132 5i> 

North Carolina 39,744 39,058 

South Carolina (Electors chosim by the 

Legislattu'c.) 

Georgia 34,705 16,660 

Florida 4.318 2,875 

Alabama 26.881 15.038 

Mississippi 23.876 17,.5'!8 

Louisiana 18,647 17,255 

Texas 13,,5.52 4.99.5 

Arkansas 12,173 7,404 

Tennessee 57,018 58,898 

Kentucky .53.805 .57,068 

Missouri 38,353 29,984 

1,640,252 1,422,954 149,311 



Tho Dtmocrnlic and Wliio; pnrties of 1832 were 
national. Tlicir plaiforms upnii tlu' slavory qni's- 
linn were suljstanlially iln- sami'. An inspeiuioii 
of the voles shows iliai many <>f thi; States wore 
quite nearly tlividcHl between those two national 
parties. Arid wiiat was the result? Over three 
millions of votes, ns^aiiist one hundred and forty' 
nine thousand sectional votes. 

In that contest, section was not arrayed aijainst 
section — we heard then no charijes between "the 
two i^reat parties of "northern Intclillng,''' or 
"soutlicrn arrogance." It was a scjuaru-out, stand- 
up contest, in which tlie Dbinocratic party pre- 
vailed. 

Were those who acted with either of the preat 
parties of that year, sinci>re and honest in their 
support of their respective platforms? If not, 
were ^heyhypocritical,and barely yielded support 
to the candidates, regardless of the i>latfornis? 

It is admitted by many, that Mr. Buchanan is 
an experienced and worthy statesman, but that 
the platform upon which he is placed is objection- 
able, and therefore he cannot receive their sup- 
port. How can any honest Democrats, or honest 
Whiq-s, who sincerely supported their respective 
candidates, and the platforms upon whicli.they 
stood in 18.5i!, now support ihe llopulsliean nom- 
ination, upon the Abolition platform of 1H52? My 
pity is excited for the man who voted either for 
Pierce or Scott, in ]8^)'2, and now supports the 
Republican nominee, for the alleged reason that 
tlje old parlies have takfti new ground upon the 
slavery qucsiion . Is it not rather he that has gone 
over to the Abolition camp, and accuses others of 
inconsistencies of which he himself is guilty? 

I know there were jioliticians, and journals 
too, at the North, in 1852, who publicly pro- 
claimed, while they supported General Scott on 
personal grounds, thi'v, at the same time, con- 
temptuously spit upon the platform upon which 
he was placed, and who, after the result of the 
election was known, proclaimed the Whig party 
dead ! and immediatel)' set^ibout forming a north- 
ern sectional party, based upon the Abolition 
platform of antagonism to slavery. 

I have said, and shall now proceed to prove, 
that tlie_ Democratic party is a national one. It 
is so, because the Democrats of Maine and Geor- j 
gia, the one a free and the other a slave State, at | 
the two extremiis of the Union, hold to the same 
rule of political action by the General Govern- 
ment, and stand upon a conimon platform of prin- 
ciples now, just as they did in lb48 and 1852. It 
would seem that those Democrats and those 
Whigs who have deserted from the old party or- 
ganizations, and have marched over to the Aboli- 
tion camf), and are marshaled under the leader- 
ship of .\lr. GiDDiNGs, (just in proportion as they 
have abrditioiiized themselves,) profess to think, 
and, indeed, positively assert, that the Democratic 
party has become pro-slavery. There are many 
of the so-called Ilepiiblicaii party, who in 1852, 
were ready and willing to abide by the compro- 
mise measures of 1851) in principle and substance, 
and weri! willing honestly to carry out the pro- 
visions of the fugitive slave law, but wlwi now 
hold the law to be unconstitutional, and that 
Congress has no power to enact any law upon 
the subject. Such converts undoubtedly think 
that their form /r political associates have become i 
a grcftt pro-slavery party. They think the party 1 



which they left has, in the cant Janguage of new 
Abolition converts, " sold itself out to the South" 
— that slavery has .s.-i up new and uiilnard-of 
pn.'tensions — has become very arrogant in its de- 
mands! ! > 

It is undoubtedly true' thai the Aliolition party 
has .strengthemd itsi If greatly in ihi- free States 
within the past t%'o y''ars; but it by no means 
estal)lishea the fact that the Democratic party has 
abandoned, in any particular, its old and timc- 
honori'd doctrines, or become desirous of extend- 
ing slavery any whire. As jiolitical history may 
always be read with iimtruction, I append ex- 
tracts from the Uull'ilo restijutions, adopted in 
1848, which form'-d what whs then ealli'd, and is 
now rcmemliered as, the " Hulfalo platfortn:" 

" Rcsolrcd, That it is tlio duty of the KedcTil Government 
to relieve itself from all rcspiiii.'<ilillity lor the rxisii-nce or 
eniitinuaiiceiirslavery, wherfVi-rthu Uoveriiiiieiit po:S8CR8C8 
roiistitutioiial aiitliorily tn li'iil-^tati: uu that buliji:ct, and ia 
Ihii.-i ri'spoiisihio lor its fxi-auiice'. 

" Rcsoli'cil, That the triio, and, in the jiidsment of this 
convention, the only safe meansof pfvenlinithe extengion 
of slavery into territory now free, in lo iirohihil its cxistcoe* 
in all such Irrritory hy an act of Coniiress. 

'• Resoloed, Tliat we afci'pt the i«ni' which the slava 
power has forced upon u-; ; and to th<'ir d'innnd for mor« 
slave States and slave Territories, our ealni Iml final answer 
is, no more slave Stales, and no more slave territory. Let 
the soil of our extensive domain he ever kept free for tho 
hardy pioneers of our own land, and the oppressed and 
haiiished of other lands seekin<i; homes of comfort and 
tielils of enterprise in the iVeW World. 

" Resolied, That we demand freedom and established 
institutions for our brethren in Oregon, now exposed to 
hardship, p:'ril, and massiere hy thi! ri^ekless hostility of 
the slave power to the eslablishneMit of free government for 
free Territories, and not only for them, but for our new 
brethren in New Mexico and California." 

The language of thes(j resoluiioiisclearly proves 
the identity of that platform with the Pittsburg 
platform of 1852, and the present platform of the 
Republican party of Maine. The same propo- 
sitions are involved in each, to wit: the repeal 
of all laws for the returning of fuiritives from 
labor; the admission of no more slave States; 
the prohibition of slavery in the Territories of 
the United Stales by congressional enactment; 
and its abolition in the Disirict of Columbia. 

I would most respectfully suggest to the learn- 
ed member from the Oxford district, that he 
review that portion of his speech which I have 
done him the honor to quote, and to compare it 
with ihe Abolition platforms, which I have also 
copied for his instruction, of 1848, 1852, and the 
Maine Republican platform of 1855, which that 
gentleman had a prominent part in framing, and 
then answer me, whether or not they are, in sub- 
stance and principle — and in words, evi'ii — iden- 
tical ? Sir, he will find, what any school-boy 
will perceive, that nothing is required to make 
them as exact counterparts of each other as the 
Siamese twins, but to add to those catchwords 
so ingeniously interwoven in the Pittsburg plat- 
form, of " free soil, free speech, free labor, and 
free men," the euphonious and romantic word, 
" Fremont!" 

This new Republican party, made up by its 
own invitation from the odds and ends of all 
other parlies, through its national and Stale con- 
ventions, and by the mouths of its candidatea, 
uses the following language: 

'> We invite all eitizens, without distinction of party, and 
regardless of fill mer diirereiices of opinioti, who are op- 
pt)sed to the repeal of the Missouri eonipromise, to the an- 
arctiical and dangerous doctrines of the Cincinnati plalform, 



6 



to the extension of sla*'ery into the Territories of the Uni- 
ted States, in I'avor of freedom in Kansas, of the preserva- 
tion of the (Juioii, and of restoring the Governmoit to the 
principles and j/olicy of Washington and Jefferson." 

Mark tlie langjuage italicised ! If this Repub- 
lican party intend to carry out their principles, 
as shown in the above resolutions, they will vio- 
late the principles and policy of the administra- 
tions of Washington and Jefferson; but if they 
adhere to the principles and policy which gov- 
erned the administrations of Washington and 
Jefferson, they will violate their platform. They 
may take either horn of tli.e dilemma. They are 
either inconsistent in their professions, or they 
intend to be hypocritical in their practice, that is, 
provided they can get the power. In the admin- 
istrations of Washington and Jefferson we have 
a standard — a test of high authority. Who does 
notentertain a profound respect for the measures 
and precedents established by those administra- 
tions? What they did do is preserved upon the i 
imperishable records of the country. Let us com- ' 
pare, for a moment, those records with these { 
modern Republican platforms. The Republicans 
propose to abolish slavery in the District of Co- 
lumbia; did Washington or Jefferson ever recom- 
mend that measure ? Washington superintended 
thelayingoutof thecity. Heapprovedand signed 
the act making it the permanent seat of Govern- 
ment; can any one learn from his administration 
that he advised or recommended any such meas- 
ure as these Republicans are ready to spill their 
blood to force upon the country? It is not to be 
found. 

Again, how is it in regard to the fugitive slave 
act, which the Republicans say. Congress has no 
power to pass — which they resist vi et armis ? 
What was the iDolicy of Washington in relation 
to that measure? Washington, on the 17th of 
February, 1793, himself, signed and approved the 
first fugit've slave law enacted by Congress, the 
third and fourth sections of which are in the fol- 
lowing words: 

" ^nd he it also enacted, That when a person held to labor 
in any of the United States, or in either'of the Territories on 
tlie northwester soutli of the river Ohio, under the laws 
tliereof, sliall escape into any of tlie said States or Terri- 
tory, the person to wliom such service orlabor may be due, 
bis agent, or attorney, is liereby empowered to seize or 
arrest such fugitive from labor, and to take liim or her be- 
fore any judge of the circuit or district court of the United 
Slates, residing or being within the State, or before any 
magistrate of a county, city, or town corporate, wherein 
»uch seizure or arrest shall be made, and upon proof to the 
satisfaction of such judge or magistrate, cither by oral testi- 
mony or affidavit, taken before, and certified by, a magistrate 
of any sueli State or Territory, tliat the person so seized 
or arrested doth, under the laws of the State or Territory 
from which he or she fled, owe service or labor to the per- 
son claimiii!; him or her, it shall be th,e duty of such judge 
or magistrate to give a certificate thereof to such claimant, 
his agent, or attorney, which sliall be sutFicient warrant for 
removing the said fugitive from labor to the Slate or Ter- 
ritory from which lie or she fled. 

"Sec. 4. ^nd he it further enacted, That any person who 
ihall knowingly and willingly obstruct or hinder such 
claimant, his agent, or attorin^y, in seizing or arresting such 
fugitive from labor, or shall rescue such fugitive from such 
claimant, his a<;erit, or attorney, when so arrested pursuant 
to the authority herein given or declared, or shall harbor or 
conceal such person after notice that he or she was a fugi- 
tive from labor as aforesaid, shall, for either of the said 
offenses, forfeit and pay tiie sum of five hundred dollars; 
which penalty may be recovered, by and for the benefit of 
Buch claimant, by action of debt, in any court proper to try 
the same ; saving, moreover, to the person claiming such 
labor or service his right of action for, or on account of, 
the said injuries, or either of them." 



Again: how is it in regard to the next point of 
the Republican platform in relation to the pro- 
hibition of slavery in the Territories? Within 
the period of time embraced by the administra- 
tions of Washington and Jefferson, eight terri- 
torial governments were formed, to wit : Ten- 
nessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri — as 
slave Territories — and Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and 
Michigan, as free Territories; yet the Republican 
platfo'rm demands that slavery must be prohibited 
in all the territory of the United States. 

And still upon anotherpoint — to wit: the admis- 
sion of slave States into the Union — how stands 
the Republican doctrine as compared with th« 
acts of those immortal statesmen? During the 
administrations of Washington and Jefferson four 
new States were admitted into the Union — two 
free and two slave Stales — Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee as slave States, Vermont and Ohio as free 
States; and yet the Republican platform pledges 
the party to admit no more slave States into the 
Union. 

What do the Republicans mean by this invita- 
tion, when they invite you to unite with them in 
forming a party that shall restore the action of 
this Government to the principles and policy; 
which governed the administrations of Wash- 
ington and Jefferson ? Are they sincere? Ifthejr 
are, they are both false and inconsistent! Is it 
not rather that they wish to invoke the example 
of great names, keeping their acts in the dark, 
the better to mislead and deceive the honest and 
well-meaning voter? They had better correct 
their platfor*n, and make it correspond with ths 
examples they profess to imitate. Tlie fathers 
and early Presidents were in favor of carrying 
out ALL the provisions of tiie Constitution in all 
its parts; while these modern Republicans are in 
favor of carrying into effect o.ily such parts of it 
as they like, and rejecting all other par' 3. 

There is one other point of comparison I will 
not omit to notice in this connection. The Re- 
publican Know Nothing Legislature of Maine 
enacted a law prohibiting; the judicial courts of 
that State from naturalizing any foreigner at all. 
It is notorious that, as a party , the Know Nothinga 
stand committed to the pohcy of 'extending the 
period of naturalization for the term of twenty- 
one years' actual residence. Now, what was th« 
policy of the fathers "in the earlier and better 
days of the Republic" on this question? In 
Washington's administration the first act was 
passed, to wit: March 26, 1790, to carry into 
effect that provision of the Constitution which is 
in these words: Congress shall have power "to 
establish a uniform rule of naturalization," lim- 
iting the period of naturalization to two years. 
In the administration of the elder Adams th« 
term was extended to fourteen years; and in the 
administration of Mr. Jefferson the period of 
residence was reduced to five yfears, where it 
ever since has remained. 

So much, then, for the comparison of the pol- 
icy of the present Republican party with th« 
principles and policy of the administrations of 
Washington and Jefferson, on this head of nat- 
uralization of the foreign-born citizen. 

But I cannot let off my colleague, who affirms 
that " that the Democratic party is a . octional 
one," and that " the Republican party is na- 
tional," without bestowing some further consid- 



eration upon his allowntions. The gentleman I 
undoultii'dly supportod Gcnernl Pierce for the ' 
Presidimy in 185:2, witli tho full kndwledse of 
his poliiieiil antecedents. He must have known ' 
the conspicuous part he bore in setting aside tlie , 
nomination of Rev. Mr. Atwood for Governor of 
the Slate (.;' New Hanijishire, in ci)n.se(]nencc of 
his writiuij a Free-Soil letter soon after his nom- ] 
inalion by the Democratic party. He must liave i 
been acquainted with the jjlatform upon which he j 
■was placed, and the pledge made to carry out the ' 
provisions of the fuijitive slave law. j 

I conclude he was a member of the political i 
convention holden at Portland on the 4th day of 
August, 1853, and addressed that convention, i 
which passed the following resolutions, among 
others : • I 

" Rciolvcil, That we recognize as fundnmcntal JelTcrso- | 
nian principle's of the Dcniocraiic psrfy, ' thesoverti!.'iily of [ 
the people ' — Uie sacrndiiess of the Union and Corislilution I 
— faith in the inlelliiience of the people — strict accouni;i- 1 
bility of public agents — and ' appeals to the virtue and inlel 
ligeiiceof tin- people' for the proniotion of the ends of true | 
Democratic Republican government. t 

"Reso/rcrf, That Franklin Pierce, by the noble stand he j 
has taken in his inausural address upon the principles and 
present measures of the national Democratic party — by the 
wisdom and Ibrecast he has manifested in the selection of i 
his Cabinet .and subordinate officers— by his honesty and 
fidelity to the people, and by the industry, integrity, and 
patriotism he has shown in the discharge of all the trusts I 
committed to his care as Chief ,M;igistrate of the nation, 
•has comn\;inded, an'd should receive, our iinqualltied ap- 
probation anil enthusiastic support.' " 

The gentleman must pardon me for placing 
before the Flouse and the country the active 
agency which he had in eleclinj^ General Pierce, 
upon the precise platform which he now so in- 
dignantly spits upon, and fiercely condemns. 
While the President has stood firmly upon the 
Baltimore platform, which was fully approved 
and indorsed by my learned friend, he has found 
it impossible to maintain an erect position upon 
it, but has tumbled headlong into the slough of 
Black Republicanisn*. I beg him to listen, while 
I pursue this train of thought, touching his polit- 
ical tergiversations, still further. 

The following extracts are copied from the pro- 
ceedings of the abovenamed convention, as pub- 
lished in the Oxford Democrat, a newspapernow 
edited by the gentleman: 

" Hon. JoliM J. I'erry, of Oxford, and Dr. James M. Buz- 
rell, of Portland, addressed the convention. 

" On motion of Hon. John J. Perry,of Oxford, voted that 
the thanks of this convention be tendered to the Democracy 
of Portland, I'or the manner in which they have entertained 
the convention ; and the ofTiet^rs of the convention for the 
faithful manner in which they have discharged their du- 
tie«." 

Still further, I beg to call the attention of the 
House and of my consistent colleague, to another 
and subsequent convention, holden at South Paris 
on the 16th of August, 1853, of which conven- 
tion he was a prominent member. At that meet- 
ing the following resolution was unanimously 
adopted: 

" Resolved, That the Democracy of Oxford county con- 
gratulate the country on the election of Franklin Pierce to 
the Presidency; that the unparalleled majority by which 
that result w.as accomplished, atfords, both at home and 
abroad, a signal illustration of the deep seated and almost 
universal attachment of the people to Democratic princi- 
ples; that the policy of his Administration, as indicated in 
his inaugural addr(^ss,and as successfully carried out by his 
official acts thus far, meets our cordial approbation ; that 
while demagogties and factionists may denounce his patri- 
otic eflbrts to harmonize the Democracy of the Union, the 
people whose virtue and intelligence are above all price, 



will triumphantly cuitain hlin, and thereby cooperate suc- 
ceHHfully with a ruliT alter their own heart in iniiinlaining 
tlio public honor and promoting (he national prosperity." 

From the.se resoluiions, it is plain and clear as 
noonday, that my collen;;ue was, at the time' of 
their adoption, an ardent admirer of President 
Pearce, and particularly of the jirrsonnil of his 
Cabinet. There are sonle very si;;nifi(ant quota- 
tion.s in the first resolutions, to wit: "The sov- 
ercijjniy of the people," " Faith in the intelligence 
of the people," "Appeals to the virtue and ih- 
toUigcnce of the people. One holding these sen- 
timents, it would be supposed, coiild hardly be 
unwilling to leave to the pi.-ojih; of Kansas, as was 
left to the people of the thirty-one States, the 
question of forming their own doinestiir institu- 
tions in their own way, uninliueiiced by outside 
opinions, without undergoing a slii;hl change of 
ntind. 

Now, Mr. Speaker, I beg leave to ask, with all 
that respect for the member from Oxford, to 
which his position as member of the American 
Congress entitles him, whether you, sir, or any 
member on this floor, in view of the indisputjible 
facts which 1 have presented in my remarks, 
have ever known or read of, in the history of any 
nation, the conversion of a public functionary 
which was so sudden, so thorough, and so unac- 
countable as that of tlie honorable gentleman re- 
ferred to .' 

The allegation that the Democratic party is sec- 
tional and tlie Republican party national, made by 
the gentleman, taken in connection witli the fact 
that a portion of his own Rejjuldican constituents 
undertook to celebrate (I should say desecrate) the 
last anniveasary day of American independence, 
by hoisting a flag with only sixteen stars, emblem- 
atical of the free Stales alone, is only eqiialed by 
the coolness of the Spartan youth. The bpartans, 
to perfect their youth in the ar^ and strategy of 
war, taught them to steal, but punished detection 
with great severity. A youth had stolen a fox 
and concealed it under his cloak; the llieft was 
charged upon him, he denied it, though the fox 
was gnawing out his vitals at the' time. 

THE K.^VSAS aUESTION. 

The troubles now existing in Kansas ought 
not to be. They seriously threaten tlie safety of 
the Union. It is now no time to bandy epithets, 
as to who is responsible or who is chargeable 
for the difficulties existing at this moment in that 
Territory. The all-imiiortant question is, how 
can we best allay them? Whether it were wise 
or unwise to have repealed the Missouri restric- 
tion is no longer an open question; for good or 
for evil it was done. Eve^i if it were wrong or 
unwise to have repealed it, it furnishes no justi- 
fication, or apology even, for those who may be 
disposed to increase the evils which have followed 
, it. (Questions of higher moment are now in- 
I volved — the question of domestic peace or civil 
war. How does this question aflect the people of 
Maine, a frontier Stale, with property to the 
amount of fifty millions afloat, and exposed to all 
the hazards of foreign aggression.' Is it for her 
interest to have the prestige of a strong national 
Government, composed of tiiirty millions of peo- 
ple, to guaranty her security, or to be left at the 
mercy of every marauder, whose cupidity the 
ocean shall invite, with no other means of protcc- 



wSl ,2!. ""cwss 



8 



tion than sucli as a Government, about to break 
UD in anarchy, can furnish? _ 

"if the state of things now said to exist in Kan- 
gas be permitted to go on unrestrained, the very- 
atmosphere will become rarefied by the intense 
heat of excited passion, and prejudice, and the 
rush from the surrounding States will be in- 
creased, adding frrsH fuel to the flame already j 
jo-nited, until the whole country will be wrapt in 
the blaze of rcvoluiion. What can be done to 
avert this imnending danger? What has been 
attempted? The Senate have pa*scd a bill re- 
pealing the objectionable and obnoxious territo- 
rial laws, providing for taking a new census, for 
a new classification of the inhabitants into elec- 
tion districts, affording every reasonable guarantee 
for the enjoyment of the right of suflfrage, and for 
a free and unbiased expression of the popular 
will. In this measure of relief they have asked 
the concurrence of the House of Representatives. 
The House have refused that concurrence. The 
majority of the House are Republicans; it has 
the organization. Upon whom, then, rests the 
responsibility? Certainly, not upon the minor- 
ity, who voted in a body to suspend the rules to 
take up this identical bill, when the Republicans, 
to a man, voted against that suspension. Do the 
Republicans desire to have the Kansas troubles 
adjusted ? I unhesitatingly answer, I believe not, 
until after the presidential election shall have 
taken place. They have " tacked " to the Army 
bill a proviso which is wholly unprecedented m 
the history oflegislation, clearly unconstitutional, 
and one which they well knew the Senate would \ 
never agree to: evincing a determination to arrest 
the wheels of Government, unless they can coerce 1 
the Senate and the President into the adoption of j 
their policy, against their convictions of duty. 
Thus Congress stands at a dead lock ! ' 
What is toJje the end of these things? The j 
Army disbanded— civil war rearing its horrid 
front— inflammatory zealots, running to and fro 
through the land, crying " no union with slave- 
holders," embittering the passions and exciting 
the prejudices of the people of one section against 
another. Can the result of such efforts, if per- 
sisted in, be doubtful in the mind of any one ? 
There is but one mode of escape, and that is, in 
the spirit of our fathers, to frown indignantly upon 
the efforts of all such agitators, and endeavor to 
quiet the public mind by inculcating measures of 
pacification. I am willing to concur in any mode 
of relief which shall give to the people of that 
Territory a fair and just opportunity of express- 
ing their wishes, unawed by threats or by inva- 
sion from any quarter; and, as they decide, I will 
abide by that decision, always provided they act 
within the limits of the Constitution. My own 
personal wishes are, that they should make Kan- 
sas a free State. Those wishes, however strong, 
I hold in subordination to the great principles of 
Bclf-government. I prefer, on many accounts, 
that the question, whether that Territory shall be 
a free or slave State, shall be decided by the 
actual settlers therein rather than by Congress. 
It is, after all, more a question of jurisdiction than 
of measures, which really divides political parties 
whether Congress or the people of the Terri- 




tory ''''''''''''''W///l///M//f|////MMM '^^'^^ ^^^^ 

the r 011 oa!-, !^'Wn^^^ ons. It 
better co.n,.,,^"^^ ^97 887 0^ .heory of 
our Government for them lo ^>^ _ ^^ was this 
principle which settled, the great controversy of 
1S50. The case of California was a practical 
illustration of it. It worked well in that case; and 
why not, tried by the same principle, in this case? 
It must come to that after all. Suppose Congress 
were to admit Kansas as a State under her 
fi\mou3 Topeka constitution : the moment she 
was admitted, it would be clearly within her 
power to call a State convention and revise her 
constitution. All our institutions in this country 
have for their basis the jiopular wili; and it is 
illusory and vain lo suppose that any permanent 
advanllige can be obtained in eitlier event, if the 
people are determined to have slavery. 

Congress has now been in extra session over 
a week; time and again has the Army bill been 
voted upon and lost. The majority of the House 
adhere to the proviso attached to it. The Senat* 
strike it off. The Constitution divides the powers 
of the Government into three separate branches, 
the legislative, judicial, and executive. This legis- 
lative proviso usurps both judicial and executive 
powers. Congress may determine whether th« 
Army shall be greater or less, or none at all; but 
when created, the Constitution confers the power 
of commanding and locating it upon the Execu- 
utive. Congress may declare war, and provide 
and maintain an army. Could Congress attach 
to a supply bill the direction of its movements, 
or say what officer shall command the Army? 
That is a power which belongs exclusively to 
the Executive. And so with the judiciary, 
another distinct branch of the Government. 
To the civil bill, which contains the appropria- 
tions for the salaries of the judges, could thi 
House tack a proviso, that no salary should bs 
paid to a judge unless he decided that some par- 
ticular act onthe statute-*ook was null and void ? 
If the power of the House, as a coordinate branch 
of the law-making body, extends to the length of 
this proviso, it may control the action of the whole 
Government. The nature of the object to be ac- 
complished has no influence in determining the 
question of authority. The object sought to be 
obtained may be right or wrong in itself. That is 
immaterial. These laws in Kansas may be ever 
so odious and tyrannical, yet the House have no 
more power to "tack" a proviso to the Army 
bill, that the President shall not use the Army to 
enforce them through the judicial tribunals, than 
if they were ever so wise and just. It is solely a 
question of constitutional power. Who, then, is 
responsible for the defeat of the Army bill? Is it 
the party which has confined itself within its 
constitutional prerogative? or that party which 
has usurped the power and prerogative which the 
Constitution vested in the Chief Magistrate? 
There cannot be a doubt in the mind of an im- 
partial reader of that sacred instrument, as to 
where the responsibility rests. Itis the first time 
in the history of our Government that this inva- 
sion of the authority of the Executive has been 
attempted; and itis devoutly hoped that itmayb< 
the last. The country will judge between them 



Printed at the Office of the CongresBional Globe. 



